HOPE – The 42-member Hope Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) has launched a fundraising campaign to construct a new training center in northeast Bartholomew County, Hope Fire Chief Adam Mathis said. The center is already going up on 2 acres, located east of the fire station at the corner of Aiken and South streets.
Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and former racing team owner Tony Stewart has already stepped forward to be among the first to make a contribution to the planned facility, Mathis said. The Columbus native’s contribution of two shipping containers, collectively worth more than $2,000, was just made public.
The Tony Stewart Foundation, which handles philanthropic causes supported by Stewart, announced in October they will close at the end of the year. The fire chief said that means his department is counting on others in the region to pick up the financial slack.
Online donations are being accepted at GoFundMe.com. The account, titled “Support Hope Fire Dept.’s Training Center” has established a goal of $20,000, Mathis said.
The individual or business that donates the largest amount will have their name featured on a dedication plaque at the training center, organizers said.
When asked why Hope needs its own training facility when neighboring communities, including Columbus, already have them, the fire chief said it’s difficult to comply with the requirements.
“There’s a lot of red tape we would have to cut through,” Mathis said. “A lot of it has to do with liability. I think they also require one of their officers to be at the training center at all times while we are there.”
Since other rural fire departments are facing the same obstacles, the fire chief said Hope’s training facility would be made available to all mutual aid volunteer departments. That includes township-supported departments in Bartholomew County, as well as in some neighboring counties, Mathis said.
All rural departments will be able to train more effectively and better prepare themselves for any situation, he said.
Preliminary construction is already underway, with the firefighters performing much of the labor, the chief said. For example, some concrete footers have been set to form a foundation that will distribute weight and prevent settling.
Over the summer, Graham’s Wrecker Service in Franklin volunteered to drive to Hope with a large truck containing a rotator large and powerful enough to move the shipping containers to where they are now, Mathis said.
As more containers and contributions are obtained, efforts will be undertaken to simulate a two-story house with a metal staircase, Mathis said. Eventually, portable doors and windows will be installed to allow firefighters to go through forcible entry exercises and stage different training scenarios, he said.
While volunteers are supplying much of the labor, a significant amount of metal and concrete will have to purchased with monetary donations, according to the fire chief.
For those who prefer to send a contribution by conventional means, the department’s mailing address is P.O. Box 85, Hope, IN 47246. The department’s street address is 103 Aiken St.
